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Author Archive for: jentwistle

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Caregiving in Canada

According to recent research over eight million Canadians act as a caregiver to a family member or friend, and these numbers are expected to grow with time.  The following article care of the Hamilton Spectator provides an overview of the research compiled in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and discusses the rising demand for home care providers.

Hamilton Spectator:  Report highlights growing burden of care for seniors

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Nutrition Month O-Tip of the Week: Put Away the Peeler

Our O-Tip of the week series we will be providing valuable “OT-Approved Life Hacks” to provide you with simple and helpful solutions for living. 

For the month of March, Nutrition Month, our O-Tip series will help you find simple ways to improve nutrition in every meal!

If you’re looking to get the most out of the fruits and vegetables you eat look no further than the skins.  Though some are not edible many are, and the skins (or peels) often contain the most nutrients as they are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!  So go ahead and enjoy everything your fruit and veggies have to offer – just be sure to wash them thoroughly first!

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Weekly Mind Bender

Molly, Jimmy and Sally are in a competition. Here are their results:

  • The youngest person received the least points.
  • Jimmy got half of the points of the eldest.
  • Sally received as many points as both others combined.

Based on this information, who is the eldest?

Molly.

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Six Simple Ways to Improve Nutrition As A Team

Julie Entwistle, C.Dir. (c), MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

It is no secret that obesity is on the rise across North America.  In fact, a 2014 study shows that obesity now accounts for 8.6% of youth and 25% of the adult population.  (Després, Alméras, & Gauvin, 2014)   The leading causes of this “obesity epidemic” are sedentary lifestyles, lack of physical activity and poor nutritional choices.

With the stressful lives being led by our generation, taking time to prepare and bring healthy lunches and snacks to work is difficult.  Yet, without a healthy snack or lunch, the tendency is to purchase food that is not healthy, or to under-eat which, believe it or not, can also cause obesity as our body works to “hold onto” every calorie in fear of starvation.

Employers may ask “why do I care if my team is eating unhealthy”, but the answer is obvious:  a healthy workforce is a productive workforce and workplace absences for health-related problems (including obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc) are hugely disruptive.

Here are a few suggestions that can be implemented in the workplace to help improve the health of your staff and organization:

  1. Schedule Regular Healthy Pot-Luck Lunches — choose a day of the week and have each person bring in a healthy lunch item for a team-building activity.
  2. Bring a Colleague a Lunch — people are more likely to prepare healthy meals for others than for themselves, so capitalize on this and arrange for “bring a colleague a lunch week” and see the efforts people will go to in order to promote the health of a colleague.
  3. Recipe of the Week — each week choose a member of the team to share make their favourite healthy meal or snack and bring it in to share with the team.  Have them send each member a recipe via email for them to make on their own.
  4. Education Opportunities — bring in a nutritionist, dietician or health coach to speak to the team about how to create healthy meals and snacks to help fuel their day at work.
  5. Brown Bag Week — encourage the team to have a “brown bag” week.  Eating out can lead to unhealthy choices and lack of portion control.  Bringing your own lunch can help to ensure you are getting the nutrients you need and fueling productivity the entire day.
  6. Russian Lunch Roulette — like secret Santa, have everyone bring a balanced lunch and randomly select who gets what lunch.  It always tastes better to consume something made by someone else, so people should enjoy the surprise lunch they end up with.  Of course, plan ahead for any allergies/food requests and ask people to put sauces/condiments on the side to be added only if desired.

In the end, lead by example.  Employers have the ability to create opportunities that can help their workforce to engage in healthy habits.  Use the strength of your organizational alliance to bring people together to help them achieve healthy goals.  Everyone will benefit, including the organization.

 

Previously posted August 2015

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Intimacy Following Injury or Illness

Sexuality is an incredibly important part of being human. Yet, when we are injured, ill, or suffering from physical, cognitive, emotional or behavioral difficulties, this too can suffer.

The following article, care of the Neurology Centre of Toronto, discusses some commonly reported sexual issues that occur after brain injury.  If you have issues with sexuality after an injury or illness, know that this can be common and can be improved.  Contact an Occupational Therapist, we can help.

Neurology Centre of Toronto:  Sex after Brain Injury: What does this look like for me?

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Nutrition Month O-Tip of the Week: Make Room for Veggies in Every Meal

Our O-Tip of the week series we will be providing valuable “OT-Approved Life Hacks” to provide you with simple and helpful solutions for living. 

For the month of March, Nutrition Month, our O-Tip series will help you find simple ways to improve nutrition in every meal!

A simple way to improve nutrition is to increase your vegetable intake.  Vegetables are nutritional powerhouses full of the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to thrive.  Increase your veggie intake by ensuring you include them in every meal and/or snack. 

Some helpful examples include:

  •         Adding spinach or kale to a breakfast smoothie
  •         Adding spinach to your eggs
  •         Protein-packed salads as a meal for lunch or dinner
  •         Substituting veggie noodles (zucchini, spaghetti squash or sweet potatoes) for pasta
  •         Substituting cauliflower for rice or pizza crusts
  •         Using lettuce instead of traditional wraps
  •         Carrot sticks and hummus as a snack
  •         Kale chips instead of regular potato chips as a snack

How do you include vegetables in your meals?  We’d love to hear your delicious and nutritious suggestions!  

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Weekly Mind Bender

A number of pages were torn out of a book.  The pages had the following page numbers on them:

7, 8, 100, 101, 222 and 223

How many pages in total were torn from the book?

5 Pages

Page 1 starts on the right hand side, and page 2 is printed on the back.  Therefore, any two consecutive odd-even numbered pages will fall on the same page while two consecutive even-odd pages will fall on two different consecutive pages.

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Provider Consent in Health Care – No Also Means No

Julie Entwistle, C.Dir. (c), MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

In my previous blog, “Client Consent in Health Care — No Means No,” I spoke of the importance of client consent.   No means no.  But what is often forgotten in health care, is that consent goes both ways.  While a client has the right to “choose their provider,” this just means they can decline to be treated by, say, me. Or the next person.  But that doesn’t mean they can go down a random roster of professionals to find the best fit.  Why?  Because their ability to “choose their provider” is trumped by the provider also being able to “choose” them as well.

There are three main situations when a provider may say “no” to a client:

Skills and Availability – The provider would be expected to decline if they lack the skills, knowledge, or expertise (“the competencies”) to treat the clients’ presenting problems.   Taking on a client outside their skillset is unsafe for them professionally and for the client and their outcomes.  This also applies to them already having a full complement of clients such that they don’t have the space to do the work within what is needed or expected.

Conflict – Providers cannot consent to provide services to someone if this places them in a conflict, which can happen if they know the individual, or if being their provider would violate an employment agreement or contract (i.e. if you meet them at Company A, you can’t then work with them at Company B).  If the provider indicates a conflict, even if it seems minor to others (i.e. “I knew them in high school”), this must be respected.  Note that the nature of the conflict does not need to be disclosed.  Saying “I am in conflict” is enough.

Safety – The provider can also decline if providing services would be unsafe for them (physically, emotionally, environmentally).  While some jobs are inherently unsafe by nature, health professionals are not required to put themselves at risk when working.  This is especially true in the community where we are isolated and not protected by the surroundings of say a hospital or clinic space, where there are others (and buttons) to aid us quickly if needed.

As I said before, consent is a deal-breaker.  Always.  As occupational therapists, there are rules, laws, and regulatory matters to consider before taking on any client.  Working with vulnerable and exposed people (emotionally, mentally and physically) requires providers to take consent seriously and this goes both ways when clients choose us, and when we choose them.

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The Dangers of Vaping

Vaping is still a relatively new phenomenon but has become a huge industry in Canada.  While many cigarette smokers have made the switch to vaping as it is thought of as the “lesser of 2 evils”, many non-smokers (including youths) have taken up vaping and therefore risk a potential lifelong nicotine addiction.  In addition to addiction, vaping has many health risks that experts are only beginning to understand.   Learn more about the dangers of vaping in this article care of CBC News.

CBC News:  What are vaping-associated illnesses and why are doctors concerned?

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Nutrition Month O-Tip of the Week: Give the Basics a Boost!

Our O-Tip of the week series we will be providing valuable “OT-Approved Life Hacks” to provide you with simple and helpful solutions for living. 

For the month of March, Nutrition Month, our O-Tip series will help you find simple ways to improve nutrition in every meal!

Instead of using the less nutritional basics you may have always used in your dishes, try changing them up for a nutritional boost. 
Some examples include:

  •         Quinoa instead of rice
  •         Mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes
  •         Sweet potato fries instead of normal french fries
  •         Zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash instead of pasta
  •         Bake with applesauce instead of oil
  •         Use herbs and spices instead of salt
  •         Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose white flour
  •         Enjoy dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate

What are some healthy food swaps you’ve tried?  We’d love to hear some more delicious and nutritious suggestions!